How labelling of commercial infant food impacts parents’ beliefs about sugar content and related purchasing and feeding decisions: a scoping review

Abstract Objective: To assess what is known about how the labelling of commercial infant food impacts parents’ beliefs about a product’s sugar content and their related purchasing and feeding decisions. Design: Mixed methods scoping review. Peer-reviewed studies were identified from six electronic databases, and grey literature was identified via Google, relevant websites, government reports and by contacting organisations. Searches were completed in May 2024 using a comprehensive search string incorporating keywords and indexed terms related to ‘parents’, ‘beliefs’, ‘sugar’ and ‘baby food labels’. Setting: Northern, Western and Southern Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. Participants: Parents and primary caregivers of children (≤ 37 months) or those specifically choosing commercial infant food for their children. Results: In total, 1123 records were screened, and seventeen were included for review, with all records published since 2015. Records reported on fifteen unique studies, including seven quantitative, seven qualitative and one mixed-methods study. Studies found that simply labelling products as suitable for babies elicited a trust that they were healthy, including not having a high sugar content. Interventions alerting parents to the sugar content of products were associated with less positive opinions or reduced intention to purchase. In eleven studies, parents described being drawn to products displaying labels such as ‘no added sugar’, which some perceived as meaning low sugar. In five studies, parents described sugar labelling as misleading, and/or they explicitly expressed a desire for clearer sugar labelling. Conclusions: Parents find the current labelling of commercial infant food misleading and desire clearer labelling to support informed purchasing and feeding decisions.